Northumberland County Council (23 004 036)
Category : Housing > Private housing
Decision : Closed after initial enquiries
Decision date : 12 Jul 2023
The Ombudsman's final decision:
Summary: We will not investigate this complaint about the Council serving Mr X with an improvement notice for disrepair at his rented property. It was reasonable for him to appeal the notice to the First Tier Tribunal.
The complaint
- Mr X complained about the Council serving him with an improvement notice for disrepair at a property which he rents to tenants. He says the notice was unnecessary and challenged the accuracy of the housing officer’s inspection.
The Ombudsman’s role and powers
- The law says we cannot normally investigate a complaint when someone can appeal to a tribunal about the same matter. However, we may decide to investigate if we consider it would be unreasonable to expect the person to appeal. (Local Government Act 1974, section 26(6)(a), as amended)
How I considered this complaint
- I considered the information provided by the complainant and the Council.
- I considered the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.
My assessment
- Mr X says the Council served an improvement notice on him as the landlord for a property which he rented to tenants in 2022. He says the notice identified category 1 hazards under the HHSRS scale in the Housing Act 2004. He disputed that the hot water system was not functioning or that keys to safety locks and smoke alarms were not provided. He complained to the Council that it did not properly investigate claims made by the tenant.
- The Council told Mr X that it believes the inspection was thorough and that he was provided with details about how to appeal against the notice to the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) when it was served if he wished to challenge the enforcement action.
- The legislation from which the Ombudsman takes his powers also places some restrictions on what we may investigate. One of these concerns complaints about matters which carry a right of appeal to an independent tribunal or the courts. This restriction applies to Mr X’s complaint and it was reasonable for him as a landlord to submit an appeal if he wished to challenge the notice.
Final decision
- We will not investigate this complaint about the Council serving Mr X with an improvement notice for disrepair at his rented property. It was reasonable for him to appeal the notice to the First Tier Tribunal.
Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman